Lincoln Zdunich
It’s tough to predict a season based solely on Opening Day performance. Look no further than the 2025 Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays got dominated by the Baltimore Orioles in a 12-2 loss before going on to become the champions of the American League.
That’s why it’s so fickle…but it’s fun to throw stuff at the wall until something finally sticks, so let’s take a shot.
Excluding the Jays, A’s, Marlins, Rockies, Royals, and Braves (their openers are later today), here’s some thoughts on each team’s first game of the 2026 season:
National League
Arizona Diamondbacks
Star shortstop Geraldo Perdomo’s breakout 2025 looks like less of a fluke. Perdomo went 2-for-4, driving in Arizona’s only runs on a two-run homer off of Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. His continued production will go a long way for this Dbacks club.
Chicago Cubs
Michael Busch proved to be the best decision for the leadoff spot, living up to the call with a 3-for-4 performance. The Chicago core of Busch, Alex Bregman, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Nico Hoerner combined to go 6-for-17 in a tough 10-4 loss to Washington, but there’s hope for this offensive group.
Cincinnati Reds
Top prospect Sal Stewart had a day, racking up three of Cincinnati’s four hits against a dominant Red Sox pitching staff. He had a solid debut last season but his emergence as a potent hitter in the lineup could spark a (much longer) return to the postseason.
Los Angeles Dodgers
For anyone out there who doubted the defending champs (no one did), the Dodgers torched the Diamondbacks in an 8-2 win on Thursday night. But the best part of the night was Andy Pages’ three-run homer in the fifth inning. His breakout in 2025 was a large part of the Dodgers repeat bid ending successfully. If he can follow that up in ’26, it’ll bode well for LA.
Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee destroyed the Chicago White Sox in a 14-2 win yesterday, with the offense wrecking White Sox pitching. But the story of the day was young starter Jacob Misiorowksi striking out 11 batters across five innings pitched. He set a record for Brewers’ Opening Day starters with that number, and for a Brew Crew with noticeable rotation depth questions, they’ll need the Miz to dominate.
New York Mets
In a game marketed as the battle of the aces, neither side delivered well in the Mets‘ 11-7 win over Pittsburgh. But the lineup was red-hot. The best sign, though, was offseason trade acquisition Luis Robert Jr. going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. He’s struggled with health and consistent production in the past so it’s encouraging to see him produce on day one of the season.
Philadelphia Phillies
Sánchez is every bit the ace that Philly needs him to be (and then some). Even without Zack Wheeler to anchor the rotation, Sánchez dominated on Opening Day, striking out ten over six scoreless innings of work. Philly will need him to continue that throughout the season if they hope to return to the postseason with their aging lineup.
Pittsburgh Pirates
You might look at the Pirates‘ first inning and think, “How did Paul Skenes give up that many runs and only go two-thirds of an inning?” But that’s not particularly fair for the reigning NL Cy Young.
The story of the day was Oneil Cruz being the worst center fielder in MLB, with him misplaying two flyouts that led to five runs coming across the board. Pittsburgh needs a new center fielder, and Cruz could shift to a DH-only option in the lineup.
San Diego Padres
It was a tough day for Padres fans (it was always going to be with Tarik Skubal on the mound). But the most encouraging thing from Opening Day was Xander Bogaerts going 2-for-4 with an RBI for the club. After a middling first few years in San Diego, Bogaerts becoming an offensive powerhouse would go a long way for this Padres lineup.
San Francisco Giants
The offense was not there, to say the least, and the pitching was even worse for San Francisco. Ace starter Logan Webb gave up all seven of the Yankees runs (six earned), most of which came in a second-inning ambush. Perhaps the only comforting thing about this game was Luis Arraez’s first hit in a Giants uniform.
St. Louis Cardinals
Cardinals‘ shortstop JJ Wetherholt is one of the many top prospects that debuted on this year’s Opening Day, and he didn’t disappoint. In his second MLB at-bat, he took Rays starter Drew Rasmussen deep on an 0-2 four-seamer that was WAY outside the zone. He followed it up by recording a sac fly in a sixth inning that would prove decisive for the Cardinals 9-7 victory.
Washington Nationals
In one of the day’s biggest upsets, Washington destroyed this new-look Cubs team. But right fielder Joey Wiemer (in his Nats debut) torched Cubs pitching, going 3-for-3 with a walk. But the wonderful thing is that the team had contributors up and down the lineup. If Washington can keep that going, they’ll win a handful of games no matter how bad their pitching is.
American League
Baltimore Orioles
Trevor Rogers dominated in his Opening Day start, pitching seven scoreless innings for Baltimore. For an O’s club that desperately needs its pitching staff to compete, Rogers’ performance was (hopefully) a sign of things to come.
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox have a lot going for them this year. With one of the best rotations in the Junior Circuit and an incredibly deep lineup, they had Garret Crochet looking like he could give Tarik Skubal a run for his money for the AL Cy Young award this year. He was dominant, pitching six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts.
Even more than that, Roman Anthony started in the leadoff spot for Boston and went 3-for-4 with a walk, looking every bit the dangerous hitter he was in the World Baseball Classic for Team USA. His emergence as a legitimate threat in the lineup will go a long way towards fixing Boston’s offensive woes.
Chicago White Sox
It was a tough day for White Sox fans, with the club losing badly in a 14-2 game against Milwaukee. But there was one encouraging sign. Marquee free agent Munetaka Murakami launched a Jake Woodford cutter into right field for his first MLB home run. It was an encouraging sign after the Sox took somewhat of a flyer on the young NPB slugger.
Cleveland Guardians
In a day dominated by fantastic debut performances, Chase DeLauter shined. Going 3-for-5 with two home runs on the day, and propelling Cleveland to a 6-4 win over the Mariners. The pop is definitely exciting (but obviously will not continue at this level of production. It was still encouraging to see for Guardians fans that were rightfully worrying about the offense going into 2026.
Detroit Tigers
Could Kevin McGonigle be the spark that propels this Tigers team back to the postseason? It’s possible. Even though Tarik Skubal dominated the Padres on the mound yesterday, the biggest story was MLB’s no. 2 overall prospect tallying up four hits in his first MLB game.
He started by doubling to bring two runs across the board in the first inning, doubled again in the third, and had a pair of singles in the fifth and ninth. That level of production won’t last forever, but it bodes well for Detroit to see him succeed so early.
Houston Astros
Hunter Brown had nine strikeouts. Which would be impressive if it was over a full six innings, but it was only four and two-thirds. Allowing only four hits and no runs in that time, Brown looked every bit the ace that Houston needs him to be with Framber Valdez departing in free agency.
Los Angeles Angels
Mike Trout looked vintage with a seventh-inning home run that broke the scoreless tie between the Angels and Houston. There’s been speculation of if he has another MVP-esque campaign in him after injuries have dragged him down. It would be a nice thing for Angels fans to be rewarded with a good year from Trout after an abundance of difficulty the last few years.
Minnesota Twins
The shining star of a rough Twins team, ace Joe Ryan struck out seven batters over five and a third innings pitched. Ryan kept the game scoreless until the bullpen came undone just enough to give Baltimore the narrow 2-1 win. Not much is expected of this Minnesota club so to see Ryan perform well has got to be nice for fans.
New York Yankees
The Yankees won without Aaron Judge! That’s, in part, a joke and, in part, a hopeful indication for the season ahead. Judge went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts and New York still tallied seven runs against San Francisco. It was a hopeful omen of things to come for a Yanks club that struggles to produce without their star right fielder.
Seattle Mariners
In his Mariners debut, Brendan Donovan delivered, going 2-for-4 with an RBI. The blockbuster trade with the Cardinals for their star second baseman didn’t come as too much of a surprise but was a fantastic move by a Seattle club that needed some contact hitters. If everyone else in the lineup can produce effectively, this is a group that could make its first Fall Classic.
Tampa Bay Rays
The shining star of an otherwise dim Rays team is young slugger Junior Caminero. His 1-for-2 line sounds bad at first glance until you realize that he was walked four times. In what is sure to be one of the most up-and-down games of the year, Tampa Bay’s star showed remarkable plate discipline (something he’s not particularly known for), and hopes to increase his walk rate after proving himself to be one of the more fearsome batters in the league.
Texas Rangers
It feels like a fever dream seeing Andrew McCutchen in a Rangers jersey. Starting at the DH position and betting fight in the lineup, he went 1-for-2 before being replaced by fellow DH Joc Pederson. His one hit didn’t amount to much but it’s comforting to see the former MVP producing.
